A great day in the neighborhood!

Any time you can visit Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, is a good day, but when the sun is shining brightly as it did today, then you’re in for a special treat! That’s just what nearly 30 people received today when they attended the In Your Neighborhood event sponsored by the Local History Services of the Indiana Historical Society. Sister Mary Ryan, archivist for the Sisters of Providence, hosted the event.

For a few images of our great day, visit here.

Mining and mules

Mules were important during the early days of mining. Take, for example, this mule driver and his mule in this undated photo from the collection of the Coal Town and Railroad Museum in Clinton, Indiana. That muscular beast helped bring many a ton of coal to the surface of the mine.

The Coal Town and Railroad Museum has many interesting artifacts related to mules and mining. A few of the museum’s artifacts are pictured below:

A back pad was placed on the back of a mule or pony as protection against scrapping in underground coal mines.

These are four mule shoes.

To learn more about the Coal Town and Railroad Museum, visit here.

Local History Services meeting offered at the Woods

The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, will be hosting an In Your Neighborhood meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 22, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (EST). In Your Neighborhood is offered by the Local History Services of the Indiana Historical Society. The guest presenter will be Cinda May, Wabash Valley Visions and Voices project coordinator. Also present will be members of the Local History Services staff. The public is invited to attend this gathering.

The meeting will take place on the motherhouse grounds of the Sisters of Providence in Owens Hall in the auditorium. Free parking is available. If you need directions to the Woods, please click here.

Attending In Your Neighborhood meetings is a great way to meet, share and connect with other historical organizations and county historians. In these casual gatherings, learn what others have done that has worked well or not so well in their local history organizations and find out about available resources.

Be my Valentine!

Don’t forget your special loved one. Valentine’s Day is next Tuesday! Perhaps this vintage Valentine from the Vigo County Historical Society collection will get your creative juices flowing so that you can remember your loved one in a very special way!

This 1921 postcard reads: “To my Valentine My crop of hearts is extra fine; I've picked one big and true; To send to-day as a Valentine; Just right, my dear, for you!”

To view other Valentine cards from the collection, click here.Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!

Protesting against saloons

Demonstrations have always been an important part of the political culture of the United States. Large cities and small towns have been the sites of various protest movements. In the early 1900s, the town square in Sullivan, Indiana, was the site for a temperance movement demonstration as illustrated in the photograph above.

Look closely at the photograph. First of all it’s interesting because it’s a panoramic image. In the photo you’ll find people playing the drums, trumpets or coronets and perhaps even a clarinet. The large banner reads, “We Protest Against the Saloon.” Take a look at how the people are attired. Like people of today, some are active participants and others are observers, sitting on the curb around the square. The square is beautifully manicured and the street lamp is gorgeous.

This photo is part of the Sullivan County Public Library collection. The library is located at 100 South Crowder in Sullivan.

A Wienermobile? No, we have a Chickenmobile!

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile has nothing on this fleet of chicken trucks! These trucks are part of the Sperry Candy Company fleet in Vincennes, Indiana . It appears that the Sperry Candy Company created “chicken dinner good candy” for 5 cents! The Chicken Dinner Candybar was a nut roll. The Sperry Company was headquartered in Milwaukee.

In the photo above two men are sitting on the running board of a “chicken truck.” John C. R. Snyder is on the left and an unidentified man is on the right. Both of these photos are from the private collection of Marjorie A. Kaiser, Vincennes.

Google Chicken Dinner Candybar for some fascinating history on this sweet concoction.

Who doesn’t love a marching band?

The Indiana State University Archives houses some fun photographs of the university’s marching bands throughout the years. In this circa 1942 photo, members of the marching band line up in preparation for a homecoming parade.

Like the U.S. Postal Service, a little rain doesn’t keep a marching band from participating in a parade! In this 1962 image parade watchers hold umbrellas and support the women and men musicians as they march down Wabash Avenue in Terre Haute, Indiana.

And doesn’t this percussion group look smart in their uniforms? This photo was taken in 1964.

All three images are from the Martin’s Photo Shop collection that is housed in the university’s archives. For more marching band images, click here.